A break from life.

"look mommy!... mommy come look!" a muffled voice came from the toy bin of stuffies. When I got to him, I found an upside down child with feet wriggling in the air asking for help while giggling.

My kids, beyond the typical experiences of children, are measured on their knowledge and emotional well-being. It's unfortunate that such invasions occur, but not a whole lot we can do about that.

So far some strategies I've used is to arrange craft sessions and try to motivate them to participate. For the most part this has failed. They are boys true to the cliche. It's Tonka trucks, block constructions, or physical activities, or you just don't get to be a part of their personal space.

I've followed a lot of principles and practices passed on to me by the teachers at the school, from ABA providers and even educational assistants. I feel like I wasted my time on these efforts. I want to know what is IN them so I can help them get it out and grow in that way. So back to the drawing table. If I'm going to help make assessments more comfortable for both the therapist and my children, we have a lot of work to do. Simply put, they have so much life in them. They have so much focus. They have so much social energy; for their intentions and desired learning curve at the moment.

Back to basics however. We are of course doing math problem sheets, reading books, getting exercise, and learning language; This doesn't mean we spend our day doing just this.

I wish this were as far as the complexity goes for me. I am seriously considering putting both my children in IBI. My oldest is waiting on the next child to be discharged, so he may take their place. During this time, I am meeting with officials and therapists from all corners and levels of the community's publicly funded ABA providers. At this point in time, I'm getting informed on the program, this particular center's services, and of course what this means for us as a family and him for his education, well-being and future. I don't foresee many obstacles to his future, he has very few challenges, but those few make matters quite intense for him much of the time.

an assistant for me to help make measuring up, fun.

Here is today's math/fine motor work. My first personalized homework. May not seem like a lot, but building confidence over time is important to me. He wrote half of this independently, I'll make the next sheet more motivating. 

'D's - D! Paint is an awesome adhesive, great for limiting mess, and avoiding mess-related sensory challenges.